Long, Dark History of West Hollywood’s Barney Beanery Against the LGBTQ+ Community

Photos: ONE Archive.
"Fagots Stay Out" read the sign that hung up in Barney's Beanery for over 40 years.

“Fagots Stay Out,” a misspelled sign over the bar at Barney’s Beanery in West Hollywood read since the 1940s.

The founder of Barney’s Beanery, John “Barney” Anthony installed the sign. It wasn’t until nearly 30 years later when LGBT community leaders such as Rev. Troy Perry and Gay Liberation Front founder Morris Kight pressured the new owner, Irwin Held to take the sign down. But he refused, saying that the sign “didn’t mean anything.”

After persistent protestors, the sign briefly came down in 1970 — but then it went back up along with several more signs.

The signs permanently came down in early 1985. At the time, West Hollywood had just become its own incorporated city and had adopted anti-discriminatory ordinance. Held would face large fines if he didn’t remove the signage.

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